May 2006
Volume 47, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   May 2006
Depth Resolved Optical Probing of Retinal Physiology in the Rabbit Retina
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • R. Pflug
    Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
    Center for Physiology and Pathophysiology,
  • B. Povaay
    Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
    Center for Biomedical Engineering and Physics,
  • B. Hermann
    Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
    Center for Biomedical Engineering and Physics,
  • K. Bizheva
    Department of Physics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, CO, Canada
  • Q. Ping
    Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
    Center for Biomedical Engineering and Physics,
  • H. Sattmann
    Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
    Center for Biomedical Engineering and Physics,
  • B. Hofer
    Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
    Center for Biomedical Engineering and Physics,
  • W. Drexler
    Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
    Center for Biomedical Engineering and Physics,
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships  R. Pflug, None; B. Povaay, None; B. Hermann, None; K. Bizheva, None; Q. Ping, None; H. Sattmann, None; B. Hofer, None; W. Drexler, Carl Zeiss Meditec C, C.
  • Footnotes
    Support  FWF P14218 HIGHWIRE EXLINK_ID="47:5:3091:1" VALUE="P14218" TYPEGUESS="GEN, PIRDB, SPROT" /HIGHWIRE –PSY, FWF Y159–PAT, University of Waterloo Startup Fund, the Christian Doppler Society, EC Grant CORTIVIS QLRT–2001–00279, FEMTOLASERS Inc. and CARL ZEISS Meditec Inc.,
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science May 2006, Vol.47, 3091. doi:
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      R. Pflug, B. Povaay, B. Hermann, K. Bizheva, Q. Ping, H. Sattmann, B. Hofer, W. Drexler; Depth Resolved Optical Probing of Retinal Physiology in the Rabbit Retina . Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2006;47(13):3091.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Purpose: : To present functional ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography for non–invasive spatially resolved probing of retinal physiology in an animal model.

Methods: : Retinas from anesthetized rabbits were isolated, positioned in a superfusion chamber under a nylon mesh and maintained in oxygenated buffered Ames medium. After dark adaptation the retinas were stimulated with white light flashes of different length and intensity. Electrical recordings (ERG) and infrared OCT tomograms were acquired simultaneously. Retinal M–scans were obtained using a fiber based time domain ultrahigh resolution OCT system employing laser light centered at 1250 nm and bandwidth of 150 nm to avoid prestimulation of the retina. Dedicated post processing algorithms have been developed for extraction of functional, depth and time dependent OCT signals.

Results: : As confirmed by comparison with histology, OCT tomograms of the living rabbit retina with 3.5µm x 10–50µm (axial x transverse) resolution clearly visualized all major intraretinal layers. Optical changes detected by OCT were most pronounced in the inner/outer segment region of photoreceptor and in the inner plexiform layer. Control experiments, e.g. dark versus light adaptation as well as pharmaceutical inhibition of photoreceptor function clearly confirmed that the optical signal change seems to be triggered by physiological processes due to the light stimulus such as metabolic processes, changes in cell volume or membrane polarization.

Conclusions: : Functional OCT enables unprecedented non–invasive probing of retinal physiology, a novel extension of ultrahigh resolution OCT. In addition to providing a non–contact measurement method, it allows for simultaneous, depth resolved imaging of retinal morphology as well as for detecting optical correlates of physiological changes in retinal sublayers.

Keywords: imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • retina • electroretinography: non-clinical 
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